1. Protect the environment, minimize pollution, promote health and optimize biological productivity. The primary goal of organic production systems is optimizing environmental health, human health and biological productivity. Organic producers therefore seek to reduce or eliminate reliance on practices and inputs (natural and synthetic) that may harm soil life, deplete nonrenewable resources, pose a hazard to water and air quality, or threaten the health of farmworkers or consumers.

2. Replenish and maintain long-term soil fertility by providing optimal conditions for soil biological activity. The health of the soil is fundamental to the health of the whole system, and may be evaluated by the extent and vitality of its biological activity. "Feed the soil, not the plant," continues to be a primary tenet of ecologically sound soil management. Fertility improvement practices must balance physical, chemical and biological considerations to optimize the quantity and diversity of soil organisms. Such practices may include a combination of crop rotations, rotational grazing of livestock, cover crops, intercropping, green manures, recycling of plant and animal wastes, tillage, and judicious application of essential mineral nutrients.

3. Maintain diversity within the farming system and its surroundings and protect and develop plant and wildlife habit. Biological diversity is a key ecological precept, essential to stability and therefore to sustainability. Diversity must be enhanced in every aspect of organic production, including the selection of inputs, crop varieties, livestock breeds, rotation cycles and pest management strategies. The principle of diversity can be similarly applied to personal skills, social interactions, and economic decisions.

4. Recycle materials and resources to the greatest extent possible within the farm and its surrounding community as part of a regionally organized agricultural system. Organic systems intensively manage the individual farm system and use biologically-based inputs in preference to petroleum-based inputs. Soil and plant nutrients depleted through cropping and natural leaching are replenished by nutrient sources from within the farm and the surrounding community. Energy expended in transportation, manufacturing and handling of agricultural inputs and products is minimized to the greatest extent possible.

5. Provide attentive care, that meets both health and behavioral requirements of farm animals. Farm animals must be managed to prevent health problems through a focus on diet, housing, handling and observation. Organically produced feed, in conjunction with care and living conditions which minimize stress, is the foundation of a health promoting management system. Attentive care for the healthy animal is a fundamental precept of organic livestock management.

6. Maintain the integrity and nutritional value of organic food and processed products through each step of the process from planting to consumption. Organically grown food and processed products must be processed, manufactured, and handled to preserve their healthful qualities and maintain the principles of the organic management system. Ingredients, additives and processing aids used in organic processed products must be consistent with the overall principles or organic production. Consumers should be provided with the assurance that products bearing organic labels are certified organic by independent verification from seed through sale.

7. Develop and adopt new technologies with consideration for their long range social and ecological impact. New practices, materials and technologies must be evaluated according to established criteria for organic production. It is assumed that organic production systems will progress toward sustainablity over time through technical innovation and social evolution.

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